Shingeki no Kyoujin Episode 9: To Be Human

The titans are right here…

Summary:
Erwin, Hanji, Levi and the Recon Corps rush back to after hearing of the attack, while the hole in the wall is sealed up with the bodies of titans. Jean and the group keep the secret of Eren coming out of a titan, but it is revealed in time. Mikasa, Armin, and Eren are forced into a stand-off against other humans. Despite saying that he is human, Verman decides it would be too dangerous to keep him alive, and signals for the cannons to fire on them. Eren half-transforms into a titan in order to shield them from the blast.

Impressions:

Kitts Verman…as much I try to understand his position, his moves from putting the new recruits that have no experience up front to fight the titans in the initial defense formation, he’s also the one that left the supply chain to “fall back to the inner wall to organize the other troops.” He reappears in this episode as the commander that tries to “negotiate” with Eren…perhaps this is an example of the hysteria that keeps people in some facade of control in a truly crazy situation. First there’s titans inside the walls, then there’s humans coming out of titans…the implications are endless. The saddest aspect is that the man has no interest in investigating them, and instead chooses to just blow everyone up.

What is even more sad the the definition “worth” of a human in the corps. There are plenty of foot soldiers that die and serve as distristractions, and those tend not to be at the attention of the higher-ups. How they phrase the worth of Mikasa and Levi is that they are as good as “a hundred soldiers”- meaning one soldier kills one titan, and they can kill one hundred; they kill and save others, and therefore save one hundred others; it’s just an exaggeration. Point is, when they threatened Eren, you realize that Mikasa is willing to fight anyone, including humans, to protect him. This scene was particularly impressive, you really got the murderous intent from Mikasa coming across strong. @_@ Lesson: don’t mess with Eren unless you want to deal with Mikasa. They didn’t really care about Armin. . _ . Maybe because humans value the brute force of Mikasa over other forms of fighting?

Eren’s key revelation was bound to come up, but since the house that Eren lived in is on the other side of the wall, it is more than given that, provided he isn’t cut up for investigation or thrown into jail for all eternity (not sure what kind of jail can hold him), Eren and the Recon Corps will be making a trip to Wall Maria to retrieve the information on why he was injected, and how he is able to turn into a titan at will.

The wording towards the Recon Corps changed as well, and it may be an aspect of the propaganda that is not spoken about. If the top ten graduates are invited to be Imperial Police, and most of them accept, how is the Recon Corps, the least “safe” out of all the jobs, a place for the “best”? Even wall defence and policing of citizens is more safe, and more logical choice than joining a division that has a 30% guaranteed loss of troops on missions- but I suppose there are those that are like Eren, and that contributes to their ability to adapt and fight better.

LEVIIIIIII~ X3 And Hanji, for the matter. I think one of the most anticipated appearances has been Levi in this show, and for good reason. Despite his cold demeanor and clean freak streak, he is probably one of the coolest characters. Propaganda likes to make him out to be mankind’s greatest weapon, but I really don’t like how high they make him out to be…the higher they are, the harder they fall. ; A ; The Recon Corps are probably the more apt at fighting titans, but not everyone has that extra flair like Levi and Hanji. Hanji is kind of like Armin, interested in the exploration and science of titans, but I think the feeling she has towards titans, isn’t quite as solid as a “hatred” towards them. (Someone I know named her the SnK equivalent of a fujoshi/fangirl. XD)

I wonder what causes the blood of titans to evaporate…Levi had to clean his handles off, but the blood just evaporated off Hanji’s cloak. Also, Levi standing on top on a titan. ON TOP. WHAT. And Levi holding that soldier’s hand in his dying moments, despite being a clean freak…. TT_TT

In regards to the stand-off, Eren being able to control the transformation is a huge revelation. The humans are going to be in a panic, and from here on out, a lot less people are going to like Eren, despite his intentions. Considering how little the average person knows about titans, he’s going to be under a lot of pressure, no matter what he does. Titans have been the enemy of humans for generations, and I don’t think that hatred will do anything but grow as the humans hear more about humans transforming into titans.